Apple Moves Some iCloud Data to Google Cloud Platform

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Rumor had it that Apple was moving some of its iCloud data and services onto the Google cloud platform and away from Amazon Web Services. It turns out the rumor was true, and that Apple is trying to “diversify its cloud service providers,” according to sources.

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Some speculate the move is only temporary as the news comes in the context of the iPhone maker building its own new data centers. But even though Google and Apple are rivals in terms of smartphones, this kind of deals is rather ordinary when it comes to fields they don’t compete in.

After inking this deal with Google at the end of last year, Apple started reducing its reliance on AWS, according to CRN reports. AWS’ infrastructure was used to run some of the iCloud and other services.

Apple’s investment in this deal with Google apparently costs between $400 and $600 million, though CRN failed to report whether the figures cover an annual spending rate or just a set amount of capacity.

Apple, Google, and AWS are yet to respond with a comment on the matter.

Ireland and Denmark’s data centers are also expected to go into operation come 2017; they will be responsible for powering Apple’s online services, such as the App Store, iTunes Store, Siri, iMessage, and Maps for customers across Europe.

According to Katy Huberty and Brian Nowak, analysts at Morgan Stanley, Apple’s focus on rolling out its data centers suggests that the company wants to move in-house some of the cloud services business that AWS is currently handling.

Assuming that roughly 90 percent of Apple’s cloud business goes on AWS services, it makes sense that the iPhone manufacturer would want to reduce the $1 billion it spends annually on paying the Amazon.com unit.

It is yet unclear whether Apple’s shift from AWS to Google is temporary or not, or if the move is in addition to the business it wants to move in-house.

Reports on the news site Re/code put an interesting twist on the situation; they say that Apple is purposefully looking for ways to break its reliance on outside cloud providers while building its own infrastructure instead.

On Google’s side of the story, having Apple as a client can only mean good news; the move could help the search giant have a better standing in the competition against leading players in the cloud business, such Microsoft Azureand AWS.Image Source: CNET

About Megan Bailey

Megan Bailey is a true journalist, but it wasn’t easy for her to find her true calling. She worked in a PC service all throughout her college and not she is using her hardware and software skills to write technology articles. The thing she loves most about her job is being able to keep tech lovers up to date with the recent trends.